A Mothers Day to remember.

Happy Mother's Day!!

It's been another memorable Mother's Day for me. I love days like today. It was just the sort of day I needed to lift my spirits and bring many happy smiles to my face. It all began this morning when my kids dressed up to serve me my choice of breakfast in bed (Special K with berries...I wasn't looking forward to a messy clean-up, and cereal seemed like the perfect solution). I was also given a handful of homemade cards (my favorite) and shared a few laughs with everyone before heading to church.

Seeing this first thing in the morning will put a giggle in anybodies day!

Sabbath Days are always a favorite of mine, but today was extra special because Kyler was the first speaker during Sacrament Meeting, and he gave the most beautiful talk about mothers. I told my mom I'd post his talk since she had to miss it (blame it on those 1,500 miles that separate us). Being the great mom and grandma she is, she was sad she couldn't be here to hear it in person, so here it is for you mom! Can I just add, I am one incredibly lucky mom. I'm not sure why I was blessed with such exemplary boys, but each one of them amaze me, and I'm truly grateful to my Father in Heaven for the blessings they are in my life. This is the talk Kyler typed up in preparation of today. At the age of 13 Kyler's already a gifted writer and speaker, and unlike me who's a bundle of nerves whenever I'm asked to speak, Kyler stays calm and collected and was able to talk without using his notes too often.

Kyler Sacrament Talk- Mother's Day

Well, I should probably start off with Happy Mother's Day! It must have been about a year since I last spoke because I'm back up at the pulpit once again. About a week and a half ago Brother MacPherson called and asked me to give a talk today. I am very glad I got this opportunity to speak to you on this beautiful Mother's Day. Brother MacPherson gave me the topic of mothers. Mothers are one of the main reasons the world goes around. Mothers try to always be happy and bring the spirit into the home. If they have kids, they put them first, and they are the protectors of the family.

In "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" it says, "Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. " I remember during the Primary program a few years ago I was given this quote to say when my class was up for speaking. I believe this is extremely important. Back in 2007 during the October General Conference Julie B. Beck the Relief Society President gave a talk called, "Mother Who Knows." In her talk she said, Mothers who know are nurturers. This is their special assignment and role under the plan of happiness. To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make us grow." I find this to be very true. I know my mom helps me to grow and she cares for me.

My mom is one of the most wonderful persons in my eyes, and I hope that this is the same for all of us. My mom cares for and nurtures me. She keeps me safe and makes sure I stay on the path of righteousness. I don't know what I would do without her. She makes sure I read the scriptures, prays, and helps me when I need it.

As a few of you may know I have recently taken up geocaching for Boy Scouts. Geocaching is pretty much an advanced game of treasure hunting. People get containers and hide them in a "cache" They figure out the coordinates of their cache and post them online. Then others download the coordinates into a GPS and try to find the cache. I got to try geocaching for the first time on my birthday when I got my GPS, and my mom agreed to take me and my brothers out. The cache was located in Helder Park. It turns out it was in the woods of the park. Now, for those of you who know my mom you probably know she's not a big outdoors person, but she was doing what Jordan, Caleb, and I wanted to do. At first my GPS wouldn't get a signal so she waited. Then when we finally started we ended up in the middle of thorn bushes, and I don't mean just a few. They were everywhere. Then, to top all of it off as we were walking along the river bank with me in the lead I spotted a snake camouflaged in the leaves. It was maybe at the most a foot long and was sunbathing. My mom went out of her way to avoid the snake because she's afraid of them. Then she hears a rustling in the dry leaves and looked down to see a snake slithering across her foot that was close to two feet long! That was the final straw. She jumped in the air and ran away from the snake. After that she took Caleb back to the park to play and let Jordan and I continue to look for the cache, which we never found. I think my mom was extremely brave to even step foot into those woods, let alone go deep into them when she saw the thorn bushes, but she did it because Jordan, Caleb, and I wanted to. Now, if any of you are wondering, my mom now makes sure that she knows everything about a cache before she agrees to go. A mother will put her children's wants and needs in front of hers 99% of the time. My mom was making sure me, Jordan, and Caleb were safe.

Last Mother's Day Jordan, Caleb, and mostly I made her a book that she ended up paying for (ha! ha!) I gathered some of our pictures and had dad, Jordan, Caleb and myself write her a letter with a hand-drawn picture. I will read it quickly now:
(Kyler went on to read the book he wrote for me last year minus the personal letters. I had forgotten just how much I treasured that book until it was read again today.) It reads:

This book is dedicated to our mom.
Thanks for always being there for us!!
Happy Mother's Day 2010!!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
This is your special day, to celebrate the 1,001 things you do for us every day.

You always have time for us, no matter what you have to do.
Whether it's helping with homework, playing a game, or fixing a boo-boo.

We know we can count on you from beginning to end.
We love spending time with you.
You're our mother and best friend.

Have a wonderful day, mom.
You've earned it more ways than we can count.
We truly appreciate you, an endless and infinite amount!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
We love you!!

I think I am extremely lucky to have a mom as great as her. I just want to take a second to tell her I love her even though sometimes I may not show it. Mothers and Fathers are one of the most wonderful gifts our Heavenly Father has given us. We should treat them with respect and dignity. Thank you Mothers and Happy Mother's Day!

Just to echo my own child~ I am grateful for all the mothers out there who work tirelessly to help raise and nurture the children on this earth. All women, whether or not they have been blessed with children of their own, can help fulfill the role of mothers. Whether you're a sister, an aunt, a teacher, a good family friend, or a mom~ Mother's Day is a day to honor all of you and the divine attributes you have been given to help rear and raise our Father in Heaven's precious children. Happy Mother's Day!!

A Lesson For Me.

Kids amaze me. They constantly astonish me in the best kind of way. They're pure and humble. Forgiving and kind. And they are the best sort of teacher around. I was reading a past issue of the Ensign Magazine, and came across a lovely talk by Margaret S. Lifferth titled, "Behold Your Little Ones" I remember the impression this talk had on me the first time I heard it back in 2006, so I was happy to come across it again tonight.

These a few of the quotes from her talk.

"Children are open to gospel truths more than at any other time, and protected childhood is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to teach and strengthen children to choose the right.

It’s easy to know what to teach. The scriptures and our prophets are clear about what to teach our children. Nephi summarizes it in this verse, “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ … that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:26)."

Brothers and sisters, as a mother and a Primary leader, I know this work with children is not easy. Protecting, teaching, and loving children can be demanding, often discouraging, sometimes exhausting, and occasionally the fruits of our efforts are long delayed. But it is precisely because it is not easy to bring children to the Savior that we must come to Him ourselves.

As we seek Him and His Spirit to help us, we will see a miracle. We will recognize that our own hearts are changing and we too are becoming “submissive, meek, humble, patient, [and] full of love” (Mosiah 3:19). We too will reflect the light of the gospel in our own countenance. We will come to understand these words of the Savior: “And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me” (Matthew 18:5).

I'm not always great at remembering that this is my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to teach my children all they need to know to be happy and successful in this life, but talks like this reinforce my motivation to do better and to be a better person. Observing my own kids reminds me why it's so important that I give them a strong spiritual foundation at an early age. Jordan taught me this lesson just last week at a baptism of two little girls in our church. While the girls were changing out of their wet baptismal clothing, friends and family who attended the baptism were asked if they would write down their thoughts or their testimony on a piece of paper that the girls could then take home for a remembrance book. I was so touched by the words Jordan wrote down that I made a copy of them for myself. This is part of what he wrote, "When I was baptized I was a little worried, but after I got in the water I felt nice and clean. I am proud that I got baptized. I am for you, too.....I'd like to bear my testimony to you that I know that Heavenly Father is happy that you got baptized....I know this church is true. I'm grateful I came today."

That little guy amazes me. Even more than that, he astonishes me. He makes my heart swell with happiness because I know he gets "it"! He understands the simplicity of our Heavenly Father's gospel, and that it is attainable to all. I'm grateful I was reminded of that little lesson tonight.

Hooray for teenagers!

It's official~~~I'm the mom of a teenage boy! Today Kyler turned 13, and in doing so I was inducted into the Moms of Teenagers Club. Lucky for me I've got an above average teenager. He's polite. He does his homework and gets straight A's. He always gets ready for school by himself and never complains that he has to wake up at 5:45 even though the rest of us sleep in an extra hour. He's a planner and reaches all the goals he sets for himself. He is an amazing example to others at church, at school, and at home. Quite honestly, he's an amazing kid. I am so lucky to be his mom.

Happy birthday, Kyler!

Here are some of his favorites as well as accomplishments from the past year.

Favorite food: Fettuccine Alfredo

Accomplishment: Kyler developed a love for choir this year, and even earned himself a singing solo at the Young Americans concert.

Favorite color: Blue

Accomplishment: It was announced the boys needed to fund the entire $250 cost of Scout Camp this year so Kyler got a babysitting job and had all his money earned within 2 months. He was the only one in his entire troop to have any, let alone all of his money saved last month.

Favorite Books: Kyler LOVES to read. This usually involves reading into the wee hours of the morning, but I'm very grateful he has a love for books. Some of his favorites this year included the Percy Jackson series, The Alex Rider series, The Kingdom Keepers series, and Among the Hidden series.

Accomplishment: Kyler was called into the Deacon's Quorum presidency at church and one of the first things he did was create a blog with a newsletter for the boys to read. He's great on the computer and a great organizer.

Favorite vacation: Disney or cruising. He's a master travel agent.

Accomplishment: Kyler was asked to be a Den Chief for our Cub Scouts. Within 48 hours he had all his online training done and was ready to be put to work. Again, he did all of this without being asked. He is such a go-getter.

Favorite Television Series: Kyler loves NCIS and Psych. He also likes different cooking shows on the Food Network.

Accomplishment: Kyler was in advanced science and math this year and they'd really like him to be in advanced English.

Favorite subject at school: Math. This might have a little to do with his ultra cool teacher~ Ms. Nancy Reynolds. I told him he had an ultra-cool aunt with the same name so it was in the cards she would be amazing.

Accomplishment: He made it to 13 and his mom and dad still don't want to trade him in. I think that's one of the greatest accomplishments a teenager can achieve.

Fishes, dolls, and even more fish.

Spring Break reached our house the first week of April, and we tried to make the most of it by heading to Chicago for a few days of relaxation and fun. Stop #1 along our route was to the "Fish Store" aka "The Bass Pro Shop." Caleb was in heeaavveenn!! He couldn't believe his good fortune to be in a store that not only had an aquarium, but also an assortment of taxidermy animals. It was quite possibly the most exciting store he's ever been to. I suppose having 3 boys warrants more trips to hunting, fishing and all-around outdoor stores, but hello...I'm a girl and usually prefer the mall over a bait shop.

Once we made it to Chicago Kevin and I decided to wipe the calendar clean of most everything in favor of sitting poolside with a good book while the kids swam. It was so relaxing, and just the sort of break we needed this week.

On our second day in the Windy City, we ventured into downtown Chicago where we ate at the Grand Lux Cafe, and can I just add that it was Mmm...Mmm....good! Kyler even got an edible birthday card from our waitress.

We also checked out the Disney Store on Michigan Avenue, and just for fun we ventured into this "little" boutique:

Yep...That's an American Girl Store, and let me assure you, we were like fish out of water walking into a girls doll store with 3 little boys. Kevin's always wanted to take a peek inside one of the shops though so we seized the opportunity and went inside this enormous store . What we saw amazed us. I'm talking jaw hits the ground while eyes pop out of your head amazement. There were hundreds & hundreds of dolls, doll stations, doll dressing rooms, doll photo booths, a doll hospital, and even a doll salon. Unbelievable! We watched one dad who was obviously from out-of-town with his wife and young daughter while they waited in line for their new American Girl doll to be called in for her spa treatment. Yep...you read that right. You can visit an American Girl shop and for around $20 your doll can have a relaxing day at the spa which includes a visit to the salon for facial scrub, cucumber stickers for the dolls eyes, flip-flops, a salon cape, a faux face mask, and nail decals. You can even get your doll's ears pierced. The dad we watched had his camcorder out filming his daughters new doll sitting in the salon chair as she was getting her make-over. Every so often he'd look down at his feet and give a slight shake of his head. You could practically hear him thinking out loud, "Man, I saved all year to visit Chicago so I could pay this much money for a doll and her day at the spa" It was sort of hilarious. Not that I'm knocking anyone who has an American Girl doll. Believe me, if I had a daughter I'd probably be lined up to pick the perfect doll, too, but this guy was so clearly out of his element that Kevin and I couldn't help but chuckle. We would have had the exact same look on our faces if our places had been swapped.

Alas, our time in Chicago was winding down. We had enough fun in downtown Chicago for the day so we went back to the hotel for some more poolside reading and swimming. It was so relaxing and enjoyable. I'd do it all over again today if I could. The next day we drove home and decided to let Caleb hit nirvana once again, only this time we stopped at Cabela's where the boys tried their hand at rifle shooting:

Pretended they were back at a zoo with all their favorite animals.

and relished the time we had before arriving back home.
This has been an awesome Spring Break!

My little 9 year old!

It's this little munchkin's birthday

and boy do I lova lova him!!

Jordan changed my life forever when he was born 9 years ago, and I am so grateful to be his mom. In case you didn't know, Jordan is magic. I know, it's hard to believe that someone who is a mere 9 years old can be a magician, but it's true~I promise. Jordan has magic twinkle eyes and a little boy giggle that can make the most ornery person delightful . Of course I wouldn't state this fact without a little first-hand knowledge. There are plenty of days where I walk around with the "World's Most Ornery Award" dangling from my neck, but then Jordan enters the room, and with a little giggle and a twinkle in his eye, the award goes POOF and vanishes out of sight. I'm thinking I should trace back his genealogy a little farther. I have a feeling he could be related to the one and only Nicholas Claus. I for one look forward to many more years of Jordan and his magical disposition.

Here are a few of Jordan's favorites now that he's 9:

Favorite TV Show: He told me Wild Kratt's, but I think he likes Wipeout a little bit more.

Favorite Board Game: Any game will do...He loves them all, but Disney's Apples to Apples is one of his favorites.

Favorite Wii game: Again, most will do, but lately he's played a lot of Mario Cart and Epic Mickey.

Favorite School Activities: Gym, Art, and Computer Lab

Favorite Food: He still loves Mac N' Cheese

Favorite Drink: Pineapple Orange Mango Juice

Favorite Book Series: Magic Tree House, Geronimo Stilton, Ready Freddy

Favorite Vacation: Any Cruise. He loves going on big ships.

Favorite Spare Time Activities: Playing with Caleb and going outside

What he would like to be when he grows up: A Cruise Ship Director (please no...living on the ship for endless months would be a tough life ), or a Theme Park Planner.

Favorite Color: YELLOW

I also asked Jordan if he had any goals he would like to accomplish before he turned 10, and after a minute of pondering he said, "I'd like to go on a 10 day cruise, and I'd like to make more goals later 'cause I can't think of more than 1." Yep~That's my boy for you. Leave your options open-ended so you can add to that list later. I love you Jordan!!